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Music video maverick and first-time feature director Jonas Åkerlund
shoots the story of speed freak Ross (Jason Schwartzman) with unrelenting
MTV zip, overexposed film stock and edgy jump cuts. Think "Trainspotting,"
think "Kids," think "Requiem for a Dream," only funny
-- that is, if you think leaving naked women tied to the bedposts for
days while a heavy metal CD skips at full volume is funny.

The sun sets, the sun rises, and the speed freaks soldier on, buggy-eyed.
Crooked cops do speed before imitating the Beastie Boys' Sabotage video.
Mickey Rourke, operating a drug lab, blows up motels and gives speeches
on the power of pussy while stripper Nikki (Brittany Murphy) dreams of
better days in Vegas. Surreal cartoons invade the screen, do a manic dance,
and disappear just as abruptly.

As the world spins around him, Jason Schwartzman ("Rushmore")
stays at the center, leaving the umpteenth call on his ex-girlfriend's
voice message. Schwartzman deserves ample praise for imbuing Ross's recklessness
with a solid emotional core: in spite of ourselves, we have to like this
guy.

Your own tastes will dictate whether you think of "Spun" as
shocking, edgy, hilarious, or disgusting. Boring it's not. In the ever-evolving
genealogy of the drug movie, Åkerlund successfully manages to put
a new spin on the genre.